Ocoee Prepares To Add High-tech Weather Alert

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April 25, 1998

OCOEE — Looking for more early warning in the wake of the February tornadoes, Ocoee is investing $6,000 in a high-tech link to the National Weather Service. The Emergency Managers Weather Information Network takes feeds directly off two weather service satellites, translating electronic signals into warnings of impending severe weather.

The city will continue to rely on the Weather Service's regular radio warnings, but the new service provides another tool for the city to prepare for bad squalls, said Ron Strosnider, Ocoee's fire chief.

``It would probably give us a few more minutes to know what's coming,'' he said. ``If you can get a 10-minute jump on it, you can save a whole lot of lives.''

A computer can be set to sound an alarm depending on what information it receives from Weather Service satellites.